Hello! Is Anybody Out There? Organic reach is dead. Strategic marketing consultant Nate Long says it happened on May 18, 2012, the day Facebook became a public company. He goes on to say that Facebook is really social media at its worst. It’s no longer a community but a pay-to-play self-publishing site. Although Long admits that the odds are more stacked against brands than ever before, Facebook is still worth the time an energy if you play your cards right.Know What Your Up Against.Shift Communications has a tool that helps brands calculate how much they will need to spend on Facebook advertising in order to maintain the same level of reach they had before the new algorithm shift occurred. Yet, Long advises to spend wisely by prioritizing return on investment (ROI). Here’s what we now know: Measuring your brand’s success based on Facebook likes alone is not an accurate measure. It’s a vanity metric. Likes have no intrinsic value. Moving the needle, especially if you’re advocating for a cause or are trying to reach an audience who is likely to buy what you’re selling means reaching the right people, not just anyone. Casting a wide net is no longer the sign of a successful social media campaign. If you operate a service-oriented business like ours, receiving feedback via comments posted to your Facebook page is far more valuable than a like. The same can also be said for the value of having a prospective customer click on a link embedded in a post on your Facebook page. The bottom line is this, Facebook should be used as a tool to drive prospective donors, customers and volunteers to your main website where they can take action, which is also called a conversion. Whether a conversion to your organization means a sale, donation or acquiring a new volunteer advocate, successful social media campaigns maximize your conversion rate.Spend Wisely.

The majority of Facebook users access their accounts on a mobile device. Choosing to advertise to this market segment will typically provide you with the most return on your investment.

Facebook just announced it has developed a way to better track the performance of ads across a variety of digital platforms. According to All Facebook, “This will enable advertisers to see how people are balancing desktop, mobile and tablets before they make a conversion. Through this cross-device reporting, advertisers can see how different devices influences a website conversion and mobile app actions, as well as the value of website conversion." Facebook also allows you to upload your current user base to find people with similar attributes to your existing audience to target with ads. In addition, Facebook holds deep relationships with credit card companies, which allows them to link advertisers to likely customers by analyzing their buying patterns.Marketing to the Power One.

Unlike any other advertising medium, Facebook allows you the option to advertise to a single person. For example, you could create an ad instead of sending out a press release to reporter you want to take notice of your story. Here’s how to do it: Enter this into your search bar: Graph.Facebook.com/insert Facebook username. Here’s what you would see when entering our principal’s Facebook username: hgrzelka. Note that most accounts typically are listed using the person’s full first and last name.

1. Copy the ID number 2. Click on “Build Audience” 3. Select “Ads Manager” 4. Select “Create Custom Audience” 5. When the pop up window appears, select from the dropdown menu “Data File Custom Audience” 6. Select “User IDs” as your data type To place your ad, you’ll need to offer a high bid, say a couple hundred dollars per CPM to target just this one person. That puts you as an advertiser at the top of the bid list ensuring your target will see your ad. As you are only targeting one person, your actual cost will be quite low.Special Note: Facebook policy requires advertisers to have opt-in permission before engaging in this type of marketing although no proof of such agreement is required. Try Before You Buy. Before investing your advertising dollars on a larger scale campaign, test your messages to confirm which appeals most to your target audience. It is recommended that you test at least five different images and content combinations with a narrow budget of $100-$200 dollars before investing larger amounts. Channel Your Audience. Facebook allows you to upload your current user/fan base, which triggers the system to distribute your ads to people with similar attributes to your existing audience. In addition, Facebook holds deep relationships with credit card companies, which allows them to link advertisers to likely customers by analyzing their buying patterns. From career-centered singles to rural parents, Facebook has the capability to put your brand in touch with impressively narrow demographic categories that can in turn amplify your conversion rate provided you’re willing to pay for what once came without a price tag.Grab a Partner.

Looking to improve your social media ROI or to roll out a savvy social advertising campaign? We can help! Schedule a consultation today by contacting connect@madeirapr.com or by calling 800.516.7713.